UFC 167: St-Pierre vs Hendricks

Posted on November 15, 2013
by Eric Goulette

Photo Credit: Credit: UFC - Zuffa LLC

November 12, 1993 in Denver, Colorado, Royce Gracie defeated
three men in one night to win UFC 1. On Saturday night the UFC will celebrate
its 20th Anniversary with UFC 167: St-Pierre vs Hendricks in Las
Vegas. The UFC has changed a lot since that night in 1993, but it still comes
down to one thing, two people getting in a cage until one is victorious.

Georges St-Pierre vs Johny Hendricks is your main event of
the evening. St-Pierre is 24-2 in his career and has not lost a fight since
2007. He is currently tied for the most wins in UFC history with 18 wins inside
the octagon. St-Pierre is the pride of Canada and has long been a fan favorite
but has been criticized by some fans for not finishing fights and being boring
lately. He smothers people with his wrestling and uses his jab to perfection
while on his feet and most importantly, he wins.

Photo Credit: Credit: UFC - Zuffa LLC

Johny Hendricks is someone that many people are picking to
not only out-wrestle St-Pierre, but use his punching power to KO him. Hendricks
is a 4x NCAA Division I All-American wrestler from Oklahoma State so he is a
very good wrestler also. It will be interesting to see who can impose their
will on the other during wrestling exchanges. The other thing Hendricks has is
KO power in both hands. Hendricks has a 15-1 record and 8 are wins by KO/TKO.
This is the biggest fight of Johny Hendricks’ life and he has never been in a 5
round title fight. I think if there is a guy on paper to beat St-Pierre, it
would be Hendricks. The only question that I have is what if it goes into the 4th
and 5th rounds; will Hendricks still have gas in the tank? I would
imagine Johny Hendricks is well prepared for this fight and will be your NEW
UFC Welterweight Champion via KO in the first two rounds. BOOM!

This fight card is really stacked from top to bottom with
good fights. The co-main event is Rashad Evans vs Chael Sonnen. Rashad Evans is a former champion that is
looking to get back to the top of the mountain. He says he has the fire back
after not being motivated to fight. Chael is a gangster, so you know that he is
always ready to scrap.

Other than the title fight, the most important fight on this
card is Rory MacDonald vs Robbie Lawler. The heir apparent to Georges
St-Pierre’s throne, the chosen one, Canada’s future favorite son, and
St-Pierre’s training partner, Rory MacDonald could have even more pressure to
fight his idol if he beats Lawler. MacDonald and St-Pierre have both said they
would never fight each other, but if Rory MacDonald keeps winning and if Dana
White has his way, they will fight one day. MacDonald is currently on a five
fight win streak over some tough opponents. If he makes it six in a row
something is going to have to give. There has been talk of MacDonald moving up
to another weight class or St-Pierre retiring. MacDonald will have to get past
Lawler first though and that is not going to be easy.

Photo Credit: Credit: UFC - Zuffa LLC

Robbie Lawler is an old school UFC guy. His career has been
up and down over the years, but now that he is back in the UFC he seems to be
back to his old ways. In his first two fights back in the UFC Lawler has put on
two devastating displays of striking. Lawler is so powerful and if he hurts
MacDonald he will finish him. Then all of this talk of Rory MacDonald being the
new king can stop.

The way I see it, if Robbie Lawler beats Rory MacDonald and
Johny Hendricks beats GSP, Canada and their fans are going to be angrier than
the Mayor of Toronto on crack. Not only is that a real possibility, but that
will make things in the UFC Welterweight division very interesting.

Other fights on this card Saturday night include:

Main Card:

Josh Koscheck vs Tyron Woodley

Tim Elliott vs Ali Bagautinov

Preliminary Card on
FOX Sports 1:

Donald Cerrone vs Evan Dunham

Ed Herman vs Thales Leites

Brian Eversole vs Rick Story (Story is the only person to
beat Johny Hendricks and helped train GSP for this fight)